The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

Siles stared heavily at the half-collapsed stele in front of him.

If it was the full size, then this stone tablet would be about as tall as a person; but it has already been broken and weathered, and only part of the text is still clear, as if hinting at the doom that this world once encountered in the Shadow Age and the Silence Age.

This is an unexplored area in the middle of the Folio Sea.Here, the fog has lifted partly, but not completely.In the thousands of years shrouded in mist, it is impossible for people to imagine what kind of secrets and old news are hidden in this area.

The wind was bitter.Not far away, there was a gray-black mist floating, rendering the sky into a terrifying and crazy appearance.The sea water looked clear and translucent instead.At this moment, the world seemed to be turned upside down, and the world seemed to be turned upside down.

……"Father".

Many thoughts flashed through Sirius' mind.

For example, he finally knew why Dice compared the relationship between the thirteen old gods to "brothers and sisters".Although the relationship between gods and humans is quite different, this obviously implies that the old gods also seem to have "elders".

Another example is the existence of the blood descendants of the old gods.In fact, almost all the Old Gods have agents.The agent is the messenger of the gods, and also the highest class among the patrons.It is believed that the agent can borrow, or even use the power of the old god directly.

...The difference between the agent and the descendant of the old god lies in the identity, not the essence of power.That being the case, why did the Old Gods have to create the identity of "Bloodborn"?This practice seems to have some traces of a more ancient past.

Just like the saying of the dice, because the old gods themselves are also "blood descendants of gods", they can naturally create their own "blood descendants".There was a god who did this, so later gods imitated it.

For another example, in the recorded conversation between the wandering poet Aldous Gershwin and Graves Darrow Cremer, this descendant of a faithful believer in Lygardia, intentionally or unintentionally mentioned a concept.

"The world prefers certain gods," he said.

"Preference" is a rather humane term.The world seemed to come alive at this moment.

... So, who is this "God's father" who has never appeared in any rumors?

Siles couldn't help but think of all the rumors he had heard, including the records in serious history books, as well as Jan Calder's "Gods and Believers in the Shadow".No matter which book it is, there is no description or even hint of this god.

A question that confuses him at this moment is that Dice once said that Lycardia and Akamala were gods born together at the beginning of the world, and they are old enough.

However, they are still classified as the thirteen old gods. The title "Old God" is special enough, and it only refers to the thirteen most famous gods.

In other words, since the "father" of Themiaphas, who was also a member of the "brothers and sisters" of Lycardia and Akamala, is mentioned on this stele, then this so-called "father" is Also the father of Lygardia and Akamala.

...Therefore, there are gods older than these two ancient gods in Fisher's world.

The old Father God; then the real and the unreal; then life and death, the stars and the mountains, dreams and the sea; then the other gods.These are probably the four stages of the birth of gods.

In the third stage, the power of Lygardia and Akamala has been split.Were they split voluntarily, or were they forced?Does this matter have something to do with that ancient Father God?

...Is this Father God the Fischer world itself?

When this idea appeared in Siles' brain, he even felt that the ground he was standing on seemed to squirm flexibly.

The living world?He felt a little chill.

"...What's the matter with you?" Qin Duo asked hesitantly, he noticed that Siles, who was transformed into the No. [-] puppet, looked a little too serious.

Qin Duo looked at the stele and then at Sirius, feeling confused and disturbed.

Siles came back to his senses and shook his head.The puppet couldn't speak, so he just reached out and took Gyndo's ring finger.In their silent conversations, holding the ring finger always carries a hint of reassurance.

Afterwards, he held Qin Duo's middle finger, which meant that he would explain to Qin Duo later.Then, he held Qin Duo's hand.

Cendo realized that there was no way for Sirius to talk about what he had discovered at this time.This matter is obviously related to that stele.Qin Duo glanced at the stele slightly curiously, and then turned the topic to his own discovery.

He said: "I see. Let me tell you about this isolated island. The buildings on this isolated island are completely abandoned, and no one has lived here for at least the past few hundred years.

"The main building on the island is a low house made of stone. In addition, there is... the altar in the central area of ​​the isolated island? Maybe it should be described like this. There are traces of fire here. It may be that someone once burned things here for sacrifice. I guess.

"But the object of the sacrifice is not clear..."

Siles wrote a few words in Qindo's palm.

"...Temiya Law?" Qin Duo was a little surprised, "So the object of their sacrifice... the object of belief is the Timia Law. So, the Timia Law and Fuli Ouhai are really inseparable connection."

From the legend of the whale, to the island of Geki, to the sacrifice of the isolated island, believers in Temiafa always have a certain relationship with the ocean and the Sea of ​​Folio.

Siles nodded in agreement.He looked at the stele again.

On the whole, the text on the stele is to praise the rich banquet given to the believers by the Timia law. The thing about the Timia law devouring the flesh of the brother and the bone of the father is also recounted in a mood of awe, fear and admiration. of.

Combined with the desertedness of this isolated island, Sires guessed that in the early days of the Silent Era, the believers of Temiafa carved this stele and recorded some information.

Later, due to various reasons, Temiafa also fell, so his followers may also perish on the isolated island.

...In any case, this isolated island, especially this stele, probably shouldn't continue to be exposed here without reservation.

For a long time in the past, this isolated island was not discovered because of the fog that once shrouded it; but now, the fog has gradually dissipated, and sooner or later, people will discover this place.

If this is the case, then maybe several dangerous followers of the old gods will be created out of thin air.

So, even though it's an obvious artifact that might drive archaeologists crazy - maybe really crazy - they still have to destroy it.

Siles wrote a few more words briefly in Qindo's palm.

"...I see, destroy all these things." Qin Duo whispered, "But when can you tell me what is recorded on this stone tablet? Your expression just now was very serious."

Some unexpected discoveries.Silas said in his heart.

Instead of answering Qindo's question, he turned back into a doll and jumped onto Qindo's shoulder.

"...Okay, a novelist who pretends to be a joke." Qin Duo murmured dissatisfiedly.

Qin Duo carefully used the words on the god template and completely destroyed the stone tablet that was about to be weathered, and he was relieved.Anyway, from the expression of Siles just now, it can be seen that the things recorded on it are probably very scary.

Then, he destroyed the altar and other eye-catching buildings and those stones again to ensure that no one could find out what happened on this isolated island.He checked the situation of this isolated island, then left and went to the next isolated island.

"We might find more on these isolated islands," Cinder said.

Siles thought for a moment, but let the puppet reach out and hug Qindo's little finger and shake it.

Qin Duo was a little surprised, he pondered for a moment, and then said: "Because of those followers of the old gods? It is true that they have disappeared now, but in the past a lot of information, they have always lived on these isolated islands. They may have had different less found.

"... I don't know if they have ever set foot on that isolated island just now. Moreover, I don't know where they have gone now."

Qindo has turned all the isolated islands as much as possible this time, but there are much fewer aborigines on the island than they thought, and those aborigines don't seem to be crazy followers of the old gods.

Therefore, Qin Duo began to wonder whether the followers of the old gods on those isolated islands might have left.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Perhaps it is necessary to check the population flow of Middleton in the recent period."

And the Playa family happens to be very experienced in this area.

The puppet also nodded, agreeing with Qin Duo's thoughts.

Qindo continued to improve the journey of the sea chart, and Sirius' consciousness returned to the train where the main body was.When he came back to his senses, it was the afternoon of this day, and the train was still driving on the smooth road as usual.

He has been farther and farther away from the sea of ​​welfare.The train was still full of voices and smoke.People are walking along the established path, unable to imagine what kind of appalling past events have happened in the past that they have left behind.

Even Siles didn't think of it at all.

After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but took out a document from the suitcase.

This was also brought over by the puppet from Lamifa City.At this moment, the little No. [-] doll was sitting at the end of the bed, staring at the door of the carriage with a serious face, as if monitoring the situation at the door.

In fact, Siles specially placed the No. [-] doll there in order to exercise his ability to focus on two tasks.He usually pays attention to the vision of the No. [-] puppet while reading.

He is slowly getting used to this feeling.Of course, if the No. [-] puppet is counted, and he can do three things with one mind, then he might be completely overwhelmed.But just sitting here and reading the materials while allowing myself to use the vision of the No. [-] puppet is still acceptable.

The file he took out this time was specially given to him by Detective Jon before, and it was about the families from other countries in Lamifa City.Now he is not in the mood to deal with the work of Ramifah University, so he decided to take a look at this file.

In the past period of time, he read this information one after another, checking it one by one.

This information involves many more families than he imagined, but considering that Lamifa City is also a big city, this number is not surprising.

There are about two dozen families here, including the Darrow family and the Graves family, although these two families have lost their futures now.

One thing that surprised Siles very much is that about half of these families are inseparably related to the field of art.

Painting, sculpture, music, theater, exhibition halls, etc., these are the industries they are involved in.

On Siles' side, he knew that Mrs. Fuller's family's business seemed to be related to art, but it was mainly about the collectibles market.He suspected that Mrs. Fuller's business had something to do with the families on this list.Maybe he could ask Mrs. Fuller if he had a chance in the future.

While reading, Siles also noticed the traces of Kailan's house.More than a century ago, the well-known actress of the Kellan family worked with the Kermit family mentioned in this material.

The Kermits appear to be well-known theatrical investors in Ramifa City.Siles and Qindo have seen many plays, and some theater companies they have heard of. If you look closely, they are actually invested by the Kermit family.

This family is from Kansas and only came to the Principality of Constance in the last century.It seems that because of the failure of the business in Kansas, he wanted to find new business opportunities in the Duchy of Constance.They picked the drama line.

Although they don't seem to have made much money, they are quite well-known in the city, and because of this, they have made some friends with some veteran nobles, businessmen, etc. in the Principality of Constance.

Siles paid special attention to this Kermit family. After all, he will also stage the story of Miss Garland in the future, and he may have some intersection with this family.

It took him half an afternoon to read this material thoroughly.

When he finished, he couldn't help but marvel at the comprehensiveness of Detective Jon's collection of information.

I don't know how long it took Jon to sort out this information.Regarding the history and current situation of these families, Jon conducted a fairly complete and detailed sorting out, and included these families and their closely intertwined connections with each other.

Siles could not say that these families are all followers of the old gods, or that each of them is a "shadow" believer, but these families do have their own suspicious points.

For example... the Berkeley family.This family is the second family that Siles pays close attention to besides the Kermit family.

This family is similar to the Darrow family. It came to the Principality of Const at the turn of the Silence Period and the Fog Period, and was appreciated by the Grand Duke because of the war at that time.

In other words, the Berkeley family was actually ennobled together with the Darrow family.

However, compared to the dismal management of the Darrow family, the Berkeley family seems to be quite at home.The Berkeley family is the behind-the-scenes investors of many art galleries and art galleries in the city, and also maintains close contacts with many high-level officials in the Principality of Const.

The reason why Siles pays so much attention to this family is, in the final analysis, that the Middleton art exhibition he went to with Qin Duo and students last December was led by this family.

He had never heard of this before, but accidentally discovered it on Jon's information.

On the bright side, the Berkeley family's art exhibition this time is to cater to the withered wasteland development plan proposed by the Duke of Const, and to further strengthen economic and cultural exchanges between countries.

However, judging from the information Jon investigated, the Berkeley family itself seems to be from the north.They have always been vague about their past, but they seem to have considerable insight into Middleton.

At least when the art exhibition was held, the Berkeley family showed an amazing familiarity with Middleton-after all, if someone who is not familiar with Middleton, then it is possible that even what to show, with whom Artist collaborations, etc. are difficult to confirm.

However, the Berkeley family solved all these problems in just a few months and successfully held this art exhibition.

Even though rumors of the development plan of the withered wasteland had spread a long time ago, and the Berkeley family had enough time to prepare for it, the efficiency displayed was quite amazing, as if... the Berkeley family had always been in harmony with Mi Delton has the same connection.

This caught Sirius' attention.He wrote it down in his notebook.

Then, he looked at the sunset outside the window and breathed a sigh of relief.

It's July 7th.Qin Duo has also completed a day of exploration and returned to the boat to rest.He will head to a new area the next day.The map of Fuliou Sea has become more and more perfect.

As for Siles, he will arrive at a city in Galsworth in the Land of No Ashes tomorrow morning, and then he will go to the station where Alfonso is.If there is no accident, he may arrive tomorrow evening.

It was a little post on the west side of Kansas.There are countless such inns in the withered wasteland, and they are often operated by one or two small families, who may have been stationed here for the past one or two hundred years.

At first, it might just be a small hotel, providing lodging and hot water for lost travelers, just like the hotel that Siles and his party encountered when they went to Middleton during the spring break this year, but were accidentally trapped by heavy snow." Mencken House".

If the service of the hotel is good, then gradually, explorers of Never Emberland will come to stay here after being well-known, and thus, a small inn will gradually be formed here.

After all, there are only a few large inns like Hales House, and there are more small buildings like this inn that are scattered in Gladstone.

Such small post stations generally have functional buildings such as hotels, carriage houses, and taverns.Taverns are usually the liveliest, but coach shops (where you can also rent horses) are probably the most essential.

On the evening of July 7, just as Siles imagined, he arrived at the inn named "Main" as scheduled.

The most central building here is called the Main Hotel, and this inn was developed on the basis of this hotel.Today, people have used the name of this hostel to call the entire station.

Those taverns, carriage shops, restaurants, etc., if you don't remember the specific names, then people will directly call them Mayne's tavern, Mayne's carriage shop, and so on.

Siles got down from the carriage - he still doesn't know how to ride a horse, mainly because he doesn't have time to learn. Fortunately, with the plan of the Blight Wasteland development plan, the area around Const and Kansas has become much safer , Carriage also gradually became popular.

Of course, this does not affect the strange expressions of some explorers when they noticed the carriage.They probably thought that Sirius was a weakling who didn't understand the Neverland.

Siles turned a blind eye to these gazes, he paid the money, said goodbye to the groom, and then walked into the Main Station.

In the evening, a strong wind blew up, and the wind and sand filled the sky.It's not a good weather, so people have also entered the building.

In Alfonso's letter back then, the address he left was only the Main Inn, so now Siles can only go to the tavern to try his luck.At the tavern, he failed to find Alfonso, but he also ate dinner there by the way.

The tavern was crowded with people, dimly lit, and smelled of alcohol and tobacco.This is a small tavern, where explorers and ordinary merchants sit in their respective positions, chatting with their companions, or just drinking in depression.

Siles sat alone in a corner.This is a two-person seat, so it's no problem for him to occupy it alone.He listened quietly and thoughtfully to some recent news from the Never Embers.

Those news are all in line with the style of Land of Embers. It is nothing more than a certain explorer discovering something, which adventure groups have conflicts, which post has strange rumors, and those things about building railways.

They also mentioned the ritual of "self-reappearance", and compared the effects of each other's rituals in a very novel way.Of course, they also mentioned Noel cards, mentioned some small-scale games, and even some people were playing cards in the tavern.

...Of course, they cannot know that the creator of this ritual and this card is sitting in the tavern at this moment.

Siles also heard rumors of Augustus Dunbar again.Accidentally or coincidentally, Dunbar's head and headless body were found outside the Mayne Station.When people mentioned some explorers, they also mentioned Dunbar in passing.

Siles listened silently, he was not surprised, the coincidence of fate always happened around him.When he was in Ramifa City, he even almost lost his self-awareness because of this incident.

Now he has fixed his cognition as a human being, but that does not mean that the coincidence of fate will no longer happen.It should be said that things have become clearer and clearer.He can realize that the power of fate affects everyone.

...Perhaps this statement is also a bit out of line.He wandered off to think.But, he thought, perhaps this universality was the essence of the power of the gods.

Related to everyone concept.This is the god.

Just as he was thinking, a shadow suddenly fell in front of him.A man sat across from him.

Siles looked up subconsciously, then breathed a sigh of relief, showing a sincere smile.He said, "Alfonso. Long time no see."

Sitting across from him was his old friend, Alfonso Carlyle.Now he looks almost the same as when we parted, with a weather-beaten haggard and sophisticated look.But when he saw Sirius, he also showed a genuine smile.

"Long time no see, professor." He said with a smile.

The others in the tavern seemed to be quiet for a moment because of Alfonso's presence.

Alfonso looked at Siles, and then asked strangely: "Are you here alone?"

"Cendo has other things to do." Siles explained, "He's still in the north, so I'll come here first."

"Oh, that sounds a little dangerous," Alfonso said, "but it's been pretty peaceful in the Everlands lately. It's always been like this this summer."

Perhaps it was because the things in May failed to succeed, so those followers of the old gods were not in the mood to do anything.Siles thought so in his heart.

But he didn't tell Alfonso about it at this time.Instead, he said, "What would you like to eat?"

Alfonso nodded, ordered some food casually, and he also recommended some meals in this tavern to Siles, knowing it quite well.They talked about the past for a while, of course, it was mainly Siles who mentioned his life in Ramifa City in the past.

Alfonso also mentioned his past experience, but not very detailed.He just said that he had been staying here at the Main Station for some time in the past, recuperating and looking for possible companions.

He hasn't said where he plans to go.

Siles didn't ask at this time, he thought for a while, and then said: "It seems that we haven't seen each other for more than half a year."

"Yeah." Alfonso couldn't help sighing, "When I left Hales House, I thought I would be able to return to Ramifa City every two or three months. However, the development of things It really exceeded my expectations.”

Siles felt the same way.Thinking of his experience in the past half a year, he felt suddenly stunned.

They chatted about the old days in the tavern, and left the tavern after dinner.When they left, there was a burst of noise in the tavern.Siles looked back involuntarily.

"Hey, professor, I have to explain to you." Alfonso said a little awkwardly, "I'm in the Land of Never Embers... and I still have a little reputation."

"Slightly?" Sirius said suspiciously.

He suddenly remembered that the tribal ruins that Alfonso had discovered gave this folklorist a very famous name, although no one knew the truth about the tribal ruins.

"A little... a little bit more?" Alfonso said, "You know, the Hales House incident has also caused an uproar in the Land of Never Embers."

Siles nodded.Then, both he and his old friend couldn't help thinking about what happened at Hales House.

Alfonso was silent for a while, then said: "I'm afraid I must tell you something."

"I also have something to tell you, Alfonso." Siles said, "maybe a little crazier than you think."

Alfonso froze for a moment, a little confused.

Half an hour later, in the hotel, Alfonso was completely amazed when he heard Siles tell about what had happened in the past period of time.

Siles didn't fully understand, such as the existence of Mr. Ghost and the existence of "Shadow", he didn't say it for the time being.However, what happened in Lamifa City and Fuliou Sea alone was enough to surprise Alfonso.

He realized almost immediately that these things were likely to have something to do with the misty oasis he had been to.

He also talked about his past experience.

Siles was still listening carefully.He had indeed heard a lot of information from Herman Grove, but the information Alfonso knew might be different from what Herman knew. After all, they met by chance in the mist.

Alfonso's story begins with his trip to Kansas to lay down Emmanuel's body.

"It was normal at the time," Alfonso said. "Things changed from when I was going to leave Kansas. It was...December. It's been so long that I can't remember."

Siles nodded.Last December, he thought... that was indeed a rather distant past.

At the time, he was still investigating Jonathan Bryant's conspiracy, and he couldn't even imagine what Brewer Darrow's death meant.

"I was planning to take the train back to Ramifa, but it just so happened that the train tickets were sold out that day. If I could get on the train on that day, or decide to use other methods to return to Const, then maybe it wouldn't be too late." There are so many things behind.

"However, I heard that the tickets were sold out that day, so I decided to stay in Kansas for an extra day. Anyway, I was not in a hurry, that's what I thought at the time."

Having said that, Alfonso's words couldn't help but pause.

"However, I was wrong. The stagnation of that day just made someone catch up with me."

Siles couldn't help but have doubts about this question. He asked, "You mean, someone has been following you since you left Hales House?"

"It's possible," said Alfonso, "or they followed me after I had been away for a while. Anyway, they followed me. But until then, my schedule had been quite tight.

"Going to Kansas, finding Emmanuel's hometown, laying him down, and then deciding to go back to Ramifah ... was very consistent. It was just that on the day I decided to go back to Ramifah, I stayed for one night."

Siles frowned involuntarily.

"It's nothing, professor." Alfonso comforted him in turn, telling him not to worry, "I'm still alive and well, and those people—"

He gave an icy smile.It should be said that after staying in the Land of No Embers for a long time, the friendly and low-key folklorist who seemed harmless to humans and animals in Lamifa City also gradually showed the habits of explorers.

Siles was not surprised by this.

"...I'm afraid they are all dead," Alfonso whispered.

"In the fog you just mentioned?"

"Yes. They were after me, and I had to run for my life. I'm pretty sure they wanted to kill me, and they did it ruthlessly. But I don't know why. I panicked and ended up in the mist.

"...At that time, my mood was quite desperate. Because I knew that those who entered the mist would not end well. But, then again, I had no choice at that time."

Siles patted Alfonso on the shoulder wordlessly.

"It's over, Professor. Thank you for your comfort. After I entered the mist, I felt as if I fell off a cliff, but instead, I found an oasis in the mist.

"There's no mist there, and life is even peaceful. Can you imagine that? An oasis in the mist! Surrounded by dark mist, it's so peaceful in the middle, it's incredible.

"I almost thought I was hallucinating. But when I came to the oasis, the group of people disappeared instead, and they didn't continue to catch up."

Siles said, "Is their purpose to let you enter this oasis?"

This is his guess all the time, but combined with Alfonso's statement just now, Siles thinks that there is something wrong with his guess.

Those people, are they going to kill Alfonso, or are they going to drive Alfonso somewhere?

"No, I don't think so." Alfonso also denied this speculation, and he added, "I've been thinking about this question recently: they chased me, I entered the oasis, I escaped in the end, and they died instead.

"This series of things made me feel dazed. Is the oasis in the mist their final destination? Do they really want to kill me, or do they want to drive me into the mist and oasis? I am confused.

"Until... when I received your letter, or when I thought I should write you a letter, I suddenly realized the crux of the problem."

Siles was curious about the key to the question Alfonso mentioned, and he asked, "What is it?"

Alfonso and Siles were sitting face to face on the sofa and chatting, but at this moment, faced with this question, he stood up, walked to the window, and opened the curtains.Night has fallen outside the window.

"The Emberless," Alfonso whispered.

Siles waited quietly.He noticed that his old friend had obviously become a little gloomy due to the experience of the past period of time, and his mental state might not be as good as before.

After a while, Alfonso said: "I need to make you aware of one thing first." He turned and looked at Siles quite seriously, "We were able to leave the fog because of the ritual you invented.

"In other words, if there is no such ceremony, then we will surely die at that time. This ceremony is indeed quite powerful.

"However, before this ritual occurs, no one will take the initiative to go to the fog. Do you understand? It is a forbidden zone, a death zone, and no one wants to set foot in it unless they are willing to die - or willing to turn themselves into a lunatic , that is no different from death."

Siles froze for a moment, then nodded slowly, and said thoughtfully, "So actually, the fact that you entered the mist was beyond their expectations. They thought you were actively seeking death."

The ritual of "reincarnation".That's the crux of the matter.

When Alfonso entered the fog, it was December last year.At that time, people didn't know much about the ritual of "reincarnation".No one could have imagined that those who entered the mist would eventually come out.

"I think that's it," said Alfonso. "It's a coincidence, Professor. They wanted my life—though I don't know why, but I entered the fog-shrouded area, and it was for myself. Found a glimmer of life.

"They probably thought that I would wander around like a headless chicken in the mist, and then just die. After all, explorers who enter the mist basically end up like this.

"However, I found an oasis in the mist by mistake.

"They didn't follow me at that time. I don't know if it was because they thought I was dead in the mist, or because the oasis in the mist was a forbidden place to them too.

"However, because of the existence of this place, I was able to breathe in the mist. After that, we learned about your ritual of 'returning yourself', and then tried to leave the mist with a group of people. We finally succeeded.

"...that's my guess."

Alfonso's words stopped at this moment.

Siles collected his thoughts.

As the person involved, Alfonso proposed a possibility that was different from what Siles had thought before.

For a long time, Siles believed that Alfonso was deliberately driven into the mist, including his entry into the oasis, which was deliberately done by some people. The purpose was to make Alfonso and everyone in the mist at that time, Be an offering to what happened that day on May 5rd.

This guess comes in part from the experience of the archaeological team.It can be said that the archaeological team was deliberately framed, and then entered the fog inexplicably.And Alfonso and the archaeological team had an accident at about the same time, so Siles equated the two.

And now, Siles got further information from Alfonso.Alfonso was convinced that the group that followed him was out to kill him.

In this way, the situation has undergone a subtle change.

The behind-the-scenes gangsters encountered by the archaeological team did not intend to kill people, at least they did not kill people themselves; the situation on Alfonso's side was completely different, he encountered a group of killers.

When these killers track down Alfonso